Anonymous 1385

I know that the First Peoples of the land currently known as Victoria were massacred, dispossessed of their countries and put on missions. I know that many children were stolen from their parents during the stolen generation and put to work or given to white families and this has caused a legacy of intergenerational trauma that echoes to this day. I know that the lands and waters of Victoria have been significantly impacted by the effects of colonisation due to European farming practices and land (mis)management, leading to huge biodiversity loss and land management issues like drought and salinization.

My experience learning about First Nations history and culture in the Victorian public school system was inadequate. First Nations people were generally only mentioned in passing and in the context of pre colonial time periods and the begining of colonisation, and there was little engagement with contemporary First Nations people, experiences or perspectives. This gave me, as a young person, the impression that Aboriginal cultures were not vital, active or current.

I would like to see First Peoples perspectives incorporated into the education system in the form of acknowledgements of country, in-depth conversations about colonisation and its legacies, and engagement with First Peoples.

Through honest acknowledgement of history and the factors that have led to health and life quality discrepancies between First Nations and settler peoples today. Through an emphasis on First Nations led education for everyone living in this country. Through listening and taking the lead of First Nations people.

Through honest acknowledgement of history and the factors that have led to health and life quality discrepancies between First Nations and settler peoples today. Through an emphasis on First Nations led education for everyone living in this country. Through listening and taking the lead of First Nations people.